Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes Topped with Burrata Cheese
When you are cooking for a crowd pasta with burst cherry tomatoes topped with burrata cheese is perfect.
I recently made this pasta for my daughter and her friends when we were revealing the new wallpaper in their dining room. It was a big hit.
It was so good that I made it again for “Handy” the next week.
The jury is still out on how big of a fan he was but I honestly could eat it every day.
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How to Make Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce
Cherry tomatoes are the first tomatoes that I get in my garden. I have one plant and it will provide us with fresh cherry tomatoes from now until fall.
It is the time of year when I’m adding those little bright tomatoes to everything
The sauce was so easy to make. You just put some olive oil in my cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add minced garlic, red pepper flakes, dried basil, and dried oregano. Stir it all together for about 1 minute. Then add about 2-3 cups of cherry tomatoes to the pan with the salt and pepper and turn it down to medium-low or low heat.
You will want to let the tomatoes cook in the large skillet for about 20 minutes until the skins burst (blistered tomatoes). Stir every few minutes
Pasta with Bursted Tomatoes Sauce and Burrata Cheese
Equipment
- Cast-Iron Skillet or other large skillet
- large stock pot
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- pasta strainer
- sharp knife
- Cutting Board
- cheese grater
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup good quality olive oil
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 3-4 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp Redmond Real Sea Salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 pound short shaped or tubular pasta
- 8 oz burrata cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
- fresh shredded parmesan cheese
- Maldon Sea Salt Finishing Salt Flakes
Instructions
Tomato Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet (cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes. Stir continually for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes to the garlic/herb mixture. Turn the heat down to low heat and stir until the tomatoes are well coated with the oil and spices. Spread so they are in a single layer. The tomatoes will need to cook for about 20 minutes. Make sure to stir the tomatoes occasionally. If the tomatoes aren't starting to burst or split after 15 minutes, turn the heat up a bit.
Pasta
- While the tomatoes are roasting, bring 5-6 quarts of salted water to boil and cook the pasta per package directions
- Scoop 1 cup of pasta water out of the pot before you drain and set aside.
- Drain pasta
Assembling Pasta Dish
- Add the pasta to the skillet and toss with wooden spoons until the pasta is well coated with the sauce.
- Put pasta in to a large bowl and top with the burrata cheese, the fresh basil and some freshly shredded parmesan cheese.
Notes
The Pasta
For this kind of recipe, I like short-shaped or tubular pasta like cavatappi, rotini, farfalle, or rigatoni. These types of kinds of pasta are great for holding a sauce.
I’ve found that chickpea pasta works well for this pasta if you want it to be gluten-free.
While the sauce is slowly cooking bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. I love Redmond’s Real Salt but you can also use a good kosher salt. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Some people like their pasta al dente but I like my cooked pasta to be cooked through so I always boil it for a minute or two longer than the directions.
When the pasta is done, take a cup of the pasta water out of the pot and reserve it.
Drain the pasta.
How to Chiffonade Basil
Arrange large leaves of basil, one piece on top of the other until you’ve made a pile. Then roll the basil into a tight tube. With a sharp knife cut the basil roll thinly.
Assembling the Pasta Dish
Add the drained pasta to the roasted tomatoes and toss with a wooden spoon until well coated. At this point, if you want to have more sauce, you can add some of the reserved pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time until you get your desired consistency.
Take the skillet off the heat and put it into a large bowl to serve. Top the pasta with creamy burrata cheese. You can the whole ball of burrata on the top or cut it open and mix it a bit through the pasta.
If you can’t find burrata cheese, fresh mozzarella cheese or ricotta cheese is also a nice compliment to this dish.
I also add fresh basil that has been chiffonade and some fresh parmesan cheese as a garnish.
This simple pasta dish is easy to make with simple ingredients and simple spices add so much flavor to the tomatoes.
This cherry tomato pasta dish will be another summer pasta that I add to my meal planning rotation.
What’s In My Kitchen
Adding Protein
The reason Handy wasn’t so keen on the dish was that it didn’t have any meat in it. You could easily add the following:
- grilled or baked chicken breast – sliced
- grilled or baked Italian sausage – sliced
- Meatballs
- Flaked baked salmon
- cooked shrimp
Conclusion
Serve this pasta dish with a side of garlic bread and a side salad. You’ve got a quick summer meal for busy weeknights.
If you have never tried burrata cheese and you enjoy cheese, you are in for a big treat.
Peace and Love,
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